ArtsOhio Blog

Cincinnati Dance Artist Padma Chebrolu Awarded 2021 Ohio Heritage Fellowship

Wed, 04 Aug 2021 17:27:05 GMT

Padma Chebrolu—a dancer, teaching artist, and the artistic director of the Cultural Centre of India in Cincinnati—has been awarded the 2021 Ohio Heritage Fellowship Award for Performing Arts from the Ohio Arts Council (OAC).

Ohio Heritage Fellowships are awarded in recognition of the significant impact an individual or group has had on the people and communities of the state through their advancement and preservation of the folk or traditional arts. The $5,000 award is given in one of three categories: Performing Arts, Material Culture, or Community Leadership.

Chebrolu grew up in the small town of Gunter in India, where, at the age of 3, she began learning dance. Encouraged by her father, who greatly appreciated the tradition and heritage of the performing arts of India, Chebrolu pursued dance, music, theatre, and poetry while taking an active role in school events, television, radio, and movies. Chebrolu is the first woman in her family to pursue higher education and ongoing training as well as teaching and performance in the arts.

“Art is eternal and being an artist is a gift from divine,” Chebrolu said of her connection to dance. “It is something you must share with others. The more you share, the more you enrich and grow as an artist. The more time and passion you put into the art, the more it gives back joy and fulfillment. Ancestral dance tradition is about awakening and bringing out the inner artist to enrich and evoke the human emotion all around.”

After completing her Bharata Natyam Arangetram (graduation) recital at the age of 11, Chebrolu studied with several gurus and mastered Bharata Natyam, Kuchipudi, Andhra Natyam, Mohini Attam, and other classical dance styles. She attended two colleges: one for dance—the Sri Thyagaraja Government College of Music & Dance, where she received a post-graduate diploma with honors in Bharata Natyam Dance—and one for academics—Osmania University in Hyderabad, India.

Chebrolu’s teaching career started when she was a teenager teaching dance to neighborhood children at the request of their families. She continues this passion for sharing her art as artistic director of the Cultural Centre of India, a dance company and studio in Cincinnati where she has taught for more than 25 years. As part of her practice as an instructor, Chebrolu incorporates an expansive knowledge of the music and costuming traditions of the art form, weaving a complete understanding of the heritage and tradition of classical Indian dances.

Chebrolu said she believes that being an artist is a privilege and a great responsibility, as one must maintain authenticity and high standards of the art form while sharing it with diverse groups of people through performing and teaching. She added that receiving the Ohio Heritage Fellowship award has inspired her to further her teaching outreach.

“This recognition renews and strengthens my deep commitment to continue to present the majestic heritage dance art form to the vibrant Ohio community and create exceptional next-generational regional artists,” Chebrolu said. “My deepest gratitude to my parents, gurus, supporters, students, family, and friends for being part of this wonderful artistic journey.”

OAC Executive Director Donna Collins congratulated Chebrolu on receiving the Heritage Fellowship and praised her dedication to sharing her expertise with thousands of students over the years.

“Padma is an exceptional artist, arts educator, and community leader whose life’s work has been astounding,” she said. “As an internationally renowned leader in her field, Padma has had a tremendous impact on communities across the globe. Her artistry showcases the beautiful tradition of Indian dance, and her dedication as an educator ensures that new generations have the opportunity to learn from a true master of the art form.”

To learn more about the Ohio Heritage Fellowship program and Ohio folk and traditional arts, visit folkarts.ohioartscouncil.org.

ABOUT THE OHIO ARTS COUNCIL
The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. Connect with the OAC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or visit our website at oac.ohio.gov.

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Article by Amanda Etchison, Communications Strategist
Featured photo: Padma Chebrolu was awarded a 2021 Ohio Heritage Fellowship Award for Performing Arts. Photo courtesy of Padma Chebrolu.

Resilient Ohio: Riley School of Irish Music Takes a Technological Approach to Teaching Traditional Arts

Wed, 28 Jul 2021 19:12:27 GMT

The ancient custom of teaching traditional Irish music aurally goes back hundreds of years.

But a brand-new custom has a much shorter history. Just over the past year, teaching traditional Irish music aurally and virtually has been practiced and perfected in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the Riley School of Irish Music.

In the 25 years since its founding, the Riley School of Irish Music has become much more than just an educational institution. It’s a center of rich traditions, beautiful music, and tight-knit community. A recipient of a 2017 Ohio Heritage Fellowship for Community Leadership, the Riley School plays an important role in teaching Irish music to students in the Greater Cincinnati region.

Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Riley School educators and board members had to get creative in order to keep the rich traditions and community thriving. Virtual classes and a new community subscription service allowed for students to continue their studies.

“At Riley it’s not just about teaching the music, but building a community as well. That certainly was a theme for us during the pandemic, so we did a lot of things that were keeping our community connected, together, and safe,” said Nancy Keyser, a flute and whistle student and board chair at the Riley School.

In pre-COVID times, a typical Saturday morning at the Riley School consisted of students of all ages and their families coming together as a group before participating in their various lessons taught completely by ear. The harp, flute, tin whistle, and Irish drum (known as the bodhrán) are among the many instruments taught at the Riley School. The day is broken up by a mid-day meal served and enjoyed by all students and family members before they return to afternoon lessons and performances.

“Many other music schools have lessons throughout the week with the students not really seeing or interacting with each other,” said Dan Curtin, a 23-year community member at the Riley School. “But at our school we are focused on getting that time together. We were worried that the pandemic would really damage that sense of community.”

In Spring 2020, classes at the Riley School were cancelled as the board began meeting virtually to discuss how the next school year would unfold. Virtual classes began in Fall 2020.

“We would start in a Zoom meeting with all students and teachers. Everyone would join the big Zoom room meeting to gather and greet one another,” Keyser said. “Then at the top of the hour, we would use Zoom breakout rooms for lessons, then we’d rejoin when lessons had ended.”

While a remote music class seems like it might be loud and chaotic, faculty at the Riley School were pleasantly surprised with how the virtual classes went. There were several unexpected positive outcomes from teaching and learning virtually.

“A lot of adults are intimidated by playing around other people, so the virtual classes made that part easier,” Keyser said. “You could make mistakes and other people wouldn’t hear you; it was a much more comfortable scenario for a lot of people, particularly our adult beginner students.”

Virtual classes also allowed for inclusion of students who weren’t geographically close to the Riley School.

“Our clientele base expanded to a lot of students outside of Cincinnati because now they could participate,” Keyser said.

In addition to virtual lessons, a community subscription program was introduced. This subscription allowed community members to take part in activities and performances put on by the Riley School. Community subscriptions were available to any non-students interested in taking part in the school’s events like Friday-night virtual concerts and Saturday workshops. These subscriptions also gave people the ability to come to Riley’s Saturday virtual Zoom meetings.

“We were able to attract people with these subscriptions to the Riley School,” Keyser said. “People who wanted to be learning and part of the community but weren’t necessarily interested in taking lessons. Community subscriptions also gave people the opportunity to join the Saturday virtual room meeting and interact with fellow students, families, and faculty.”

Community subscriptions also became a way for the Riley School to support musicians who were seeing a loss of income due to an inability to do live performances during the pandemic, Keyser said.

“Because everything was virtual, we were able to hire some really amazing teachers and musicians for our virtual concerts and workshops that we would not traditionally be able to do,” she said. “It was a really nice way for our community to be exposed to a lot of talented musicians and educators who they would otherwise not get to see.”

While the pandemic encouraged students and staff to expand their technological reach into the classroom, the Riley School is no stranger to online accessibility. The school’s website already features audio tracks as a primary learning tool, with a robust catalog of traditional Irish music that is uploaded and available for students, as well as anyone from the public to listen. The school does this in order to keep with the ancient tradition of teaching and learning music by ear, rather than by reading sheet music.

“We have found if we don't insist on the ear training, the student typically doesn’t pick up on the Irish ‘accent.' Irish music, just like speech, has an accent,” Curtin said. “Adults who have grown up and learned to read music often find it very unsettling and uncomfortable to have to rely on ear training until they realize how much fun it is.”

Now that the world seems to be emerging from the pandemic, faculty at the Riley School are hoping that classes will be back in-person come Fall 2021, just in time for its 25th anniversary.

“We want people to be there in person,” Keyser said. “We will give teachers some flexibility if they’re interested in continuing to teach virtually, but we are hoping that Saturday is an in-person gathering, because that’s what we love.”

To learn more about the Riley School of Irish Music and its online programming, visit rileyirishmusic.com.

Resilient Ohio is an ongoing series highlighting the innovative solutions developed by Ohio arts organizations as they navigate the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The impact of COVID-19 has created incredible financial obstacles for the arts across the country. According to Americans for the Arts, the negative economic impact of the coronavirus on the arts and cultural sector totals $15.2 billion across the nation—and counting. If you have a story to share about creative perseverance within Ohio’s arts community, please email it to communications@oac.ohio.gov.

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Article by Cassie Rea, 2021 Ohio Arts Council Arts Administration Fellow
Featured photo: A screenshot of a Zoom music class at the Riley School of Irish Music. Photo courtesy of the Riley School of Irish Music.

Governor's Awards 2020: The Charles H. Dater Foundation, Arts Patron Award Winner

Sat, 15 May 2021 20:00:00 GMT

The Charles H. Dater Foundation was founded in 1985 to make grants to organizations in the Greater Cincinnati area that carry out projects benefiting young people in the areas of arts and culture, education, healthcare, social services, and other community needs. Since then, the foundation—one of the largest private foundations in Greater Cincinnati—has awarded more than 3,100 grants totaling $51 million to approximately 400 private, nonprofit organizations and public agencies for an array of programs and projects. Named after its founder, Charles Hixson Dater (1912-1993), a Cincinnati native and U.S. Army officer in World War II, the foundation preserves the memory of Dater and his ancestors, whose hard work and business acumen over four generations provided them with the opportunity to share their success with others in their community. Run entirely by officers and directors with no full-time staff, the foundation upholds the Dater family’s philanthropic commitment to enriching young lives by supporting community programming and services that have a positive and lasting impact on children.

ABOUT THE GOVERNOR’S AWARDS FOR THE ARTS IN OHIO
Since its beginning in 1971, the Governor's Awards has recognized individuals and organizations who have been vital to the growth and development of Ohio's cultural resources. One of the most prestigious arts events in Ohio, the Governor's Awards showcases and celebrates exceptional Ohio artists, arts organizations, arts leaders and patrons, and business support of the arts. Governor's Awards recipients are honored at a luncheon ceremony in Columbus, where they are presented with the only arts award in the state that is conferred by the governor. Each award winner receives an original piece of artwork created specifically for the event by an Ohio artist and the opportunity to share their story with other arts supporters statewide.

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Video by the Ohio Channel

2020 Governor’s Awards for the Arts Winners Announced

Thu, 06 May 2021 21:28:00 GMT

Nine winners have been selected to receive Governor’s Awards for the Arts in Ohio.

A tradition since 1971, the Governor's Awards showcase and celebrate exceptional Ohio artists, arts organizations, arts leaders and patrons, and business support of the arts. Award recipients are presented with the only arts award in the state that is conferred by the governor.

In recognition of their impactful and visionary leadership in Ohio’s creative sector and sustained dedication to promoting artistic excellence, awardees will be honored during a virtual celebration premiering online on May 10, 2021, at noon.

“Ohio is lucky to have individuals and organizations who are committed to transforming communities and touching lives through creative leadership, artistic accomplishments, and enthusiastic support of the arts in our great state,” said Ohio Arts Council Executive Director Donna S. Collins. “The Governor’s Awards are a special opportunity to celebrate Ohioans who exemplify what it means to make a difference through the power of the arts. On behalf of the Ohio Arts Council, I congratulate this year’s award recipients and thank them for the great work they do for the arts and culture in Ohio each and every day.”

The 2020 Governor’s Awards for the Arts in Ohio will be presented as a virtual celebration premiering on May 10, 2021, at noon. The pre-recorded broadcast will feature video segments highlighting each of the nine award winners, along with remarks from Governor Mike DeWine, legislative leadership, Ohio Arts Council Executive Director Donna S. Collins, and more. The OAC is partnering with the Ohio Channel to offer several opportunities to celebrate the impactful contributions of our 2020 award recipients, including the online premiere on Facebook and YouTube, and a televised rebroadcast on the Ohio Channel on Saturday, May 15 at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Each of the winners will receive an original work of art by Cleveland-based artist Barry Underwood.

For more information about the Governor’s Awards, visit oac.ohio.gov/governorsawards.

The 2020 award recipients and categories follow:

ARTS ADMINISTRATION
Lora Snow, Executive Director at the Ariel-Ann Carson Dater Performing Arts Centre, Home of the Ohio Valley Symphony
Gallipolis (Gallia)

Lora Lynn Snow is the founder and executive director of the Ariel-Ann Carson Dater Performing Arts Centre in Gallipolis, home of the Ohio Valley Symphony. Lora, an oboist, was inspired in 1987 to form a professional orchestra in Gallia County and recognized the amazing acoustics in the long-neglected 1895 Ariel Opera House that had been abandoned for 25 years. Lora spearheaded the restoration and set about to organize the community toward the grand reopening of the historic Ariel in 1990 with a performance of the Ohio Valley Symphony. Mrs. Ann Carson Dater gifted the Ariel as a permanent home to the Ohio Valley Symphony (OVS) in 2005, which added an additional theatre, conference room, and banquet rooms. The OVS, now in its 30th season as the only professional orchestra in the Ohio River Valley, recently premiered Songs of Rural America on PBS nationwide with folk singer Michael Johnathon.

Having a holistic view of the arts, Lora also established a music education program, a double reed festival, a community theatre troupe, and OVS woodwind and dance programs at the Ariel. An active recitalist, clinician, and consultant with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music performance and education from the Ohio State University, Lora has taught at several universities and public schools covering kindergarten through graduate level inclusive. She is principal oboist for the Ohio Valley Symphony and OVS Woodwind Quintet, a member of the West Virginia Symphony, and a freelance musician.

ARTS EDUCATION
Nigel Burgoine, Artistic Director at the Ballet Theatre of Toledo
Holland (Lucas)

Nigel Burgoine, artistic director of the Ballet Theatre of Toledo, is a classical ballet instructor and choreographer. A graduate of the Royal Ballet School and former principal dancer with the London Festival Ballet, Nigel has danced around the world, performing in Australia, Brazil, Africa, and throughout Europe in principal roles in ballets such as Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Nutcracker, and Romeo & Juliet. Fueled by his passion for sharing the magic of ballet with the next generation of dancers, Nigel has used his experience and training to teach ballet to diverse audiences. A founding member of the London Festival Ballet Education Team, Nigel has implemented educational programs for dancers and communities in cities in Norway, Spain, England, and throughout the United States.

Prior to founding the Ballet Theatre of Toledo in 2005, Nigel served as artistic director at several other Ohio companies, including the Cincinnati Ballet and the Toledo Ballet, where his full-length productions and educational programs were designed to inspire young dancers by confronting stereotypes surrounding ballet. Nigel continues to serve as an ambassador for Ohio arts, recently working as a guest teacher and choreographer in Japan and Canada and constantly seeking opportunities to connect international artists and organizations with Ohio dancers and their communities.

ARTS EDUCATION
Marshall C. Kimball, Marietta College
Marietta (Washington)

Marshall C. Kimball completed a 47-year teaching career upon retirement from Marietta College after 14 years of service. At Marietta College he was the chairman of the department of music, professor of music, and director of bands and instrumental activities. He holds a Bachelor of Music in music education and a Master of Music in music education from Ohio University.

While teaching at Marietta College, Marshall received the Freshman Advising Award, the Innovative Teaching Award, The Douglas Putnam Outstanding Service Award, and the Harness Outstanding Educator Award. In April 2019 he received the Lifetime Achievement in Music Award from the Ohio University School of Music.

Marshall began his teaching career in Starr-Washington Local Schools (Union Furnace, Ohio), then proceeded to Trimble Local Schools (Glouster, Ohio), and finished his 30 years in the Ohio public schools with 26 years at Marietta City Schools. During his time in Marietta City Schools, the high school band program was recognized as a standard of excellence regionally, statewide, and nationally.

Following retirement from Marietta City Schools in 2001, Marshall took on adjunct work at Washington State Community College and Marietta College. The adjunct professor position at Marietta College eventually led to a full-time position in 2006, where he achieved full professor rank and became the chair of the music department. He currently is an adjunct professor/music consultant for the music department, working 10 hours per week and deals with administrative and accreditation issues.

ARTS PATRON
The Charles H. Dater Foundation
Cincinnati (Hamilton)

The Charles H. Dater Foundation was founded in 1985 to make grants to organizations in the Greater Cincinnati area that carry out projects benefiting young people in the areas of arts and culture, education, healthcare, social services, and other community needs. Since then, the foundation—one of the largest private foundations in Greater Cincinnati—has awarded more than 3,100 grants totaling $51 million to approximately 400 private, nonprofit organizations and public agencies for an array of programs and projects. Named after its founder, Charles Hixson Dater (1912-1993), a Cincinnati native and U.S. Army officer in World War II, the foundation preserves the memory of Dater and his ancestors, whose hard work and business acumen over four generations provided them with the opportunity to share their success with others in their community. Run entirely by officers and directors with no full-time staff, the foundation upholds the Dater family’s philanthropic commitment to enriching young lives by supporting community programming and services that have a positive and lasting impact on children.

BUSINESS SUPPORT OF THE ARTS
Nicolettecinemagraphics
Columbus (Franklin)

Nicolettecinemagraphics is a two-person digital media business based in Columbus that has supported the arts in myriad ways since it was founded by filmmakers Nicolette and Matt Swift in 2006. From donating their time and resources for use by arts-based nonprofits, to conducting teaching artist residencies exploring the art of filmmaking and video production, Nicolettecinemagraphics has worked closely with organizations such as VSA Ohio, Bridgeway Academy, Food for Good Thought, the Vanderelli Room, the Greater Columbus Arts Council, the Ohio State University Film Studies Program, and more. Through visual storytelling, the company supports and celebrates communities by creating digital content that showcases Ohio’s artists and arts organizations.

Nicolettecinemagraphics’ community involvement extends to initiatives such as the Columbus iteration of ReelAbilities Film Festival, a festival dedicated to presenting award-winning films by and about people with disabilities, and the Columbus Moving Image Art Review, a free quarterly screening event that provides local filmmakers, animators, and video artists with a dedicated space in which to share their work. By approaching film projects through the lens of accessibility, Nicolettecinemagraphics uses Nicolette and Matt’s expertise and knowledge to support creative projects that inspire and engage all audiences.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT & PARTICIPATION
Jorma Kaukonen's Fur Peace Ranch
Pomeroy (Meigs)

Jorma Kaukonen’s Fur Peace Ranch was initially built in 1989 as “a ranch that grows guitar players,” but it has since transformed into so much more. Founded by Jorma and Vanessa Kaukonen, the former of whom performed with Jefferson Airplane and still performs regularly with Hot Tuna, Fur Peace Ranch is an immersive music camp, conference center, concert venue, and art gallery located in Meigs County. Designed as a place where musicians can come together and draw inspiration from their creative surroundings, the ranch hosts students who stay in cabins, participate in group jam sessions, and attend music classes. Beyond the connections created over the course of music-filled weekends, Fur Peace Ranch also unites the broader community with outreach and engagement efforts taking place throughout Southeast Ohio.

Guided by the belief in the power of music to promote peace and change lives for the better, Fur Peace Ranch supports local artists, farmers, and businesses; brings national recording artists to local audiences through a recurring concert series that is simulcast on WOUB’s “Live from Jorma Kaukonen’s Fur Peace Ranch” every Friday; and promotes the reach of the arts throughout Southeast Ohio and beyond.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT & PARTICIPATION
Joan Perch, Program and Outreach Coordinator at the Campana Center for Ideation & Invention at Lorain County Community College
Elyria (Lorain)

Joan Perch began her career as an arts educator and owner of several successful art galleries in downtown Cleveland. Recognizing the opportunity to combine and implement cutting-edge approaches to the fields of art, technology, business, and civic and economic development, Joan has pioneered programs that embraced innovation to further the impact of the arts. Drawing from her experience in STEAM education, entrepreneurship, creative placemaking, and the intersection of arts and technology, Joan has contributed to the development of programs such as Cleveland’s Sparx in the City; the Ingenuity Festivals of Art and Technology; and the FireFish STEAM Maker Teen Academy, a year-round apprentice program for culturally at-risk urban teens developed in partnership with the FireFish Festival in Lorain, Ohio.

A staunch advocate for artists in communities, Joan also founded RED Dot Project, a social enterprise that utilized web-based technologies to market the art of Northeast Ohio artists; and the Future Artist Lab at Lorain County Community College’s Campana Center for Ideation and Invention, where she is currently the program developer and outreach coordinator at Lorain County Community College’s Patsie C. and Delores Jené Campana Center for Ideation and Invention.

INDIVIDUAL ARTIST
Jesse Ayers, DMA, Composer and Professor Emeritus of Music at Malone University
Canton (Stark)

Jesse Ayers, DMA, is an award-winning composer and a professor emeritus of music at Malone University in Canton, Ohio. Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, Jesse began composing in his early teens, and at age 17 was invited by the legendary WJ Julian to conduct the University of Tennessee's top concert band in a performance of his first work for band. In 2011, Jesse was awarded the inaugural American Prize for Orchestral Composition and was named an “Honored Artist” of the American Prize in 2014. His music has been performed throughout the world in countries including Japan, South Africa, Poland, Slovenia, Hungary, and Portugal, as well as in more than 100 U.S. cities.

Best known for his orchestral and symphonic band "surround-sound" concert stories that explore the intersection of the spiritual and natural worlds and the redemptive intervention of God in the affairs of the human race, Jesse has been honored with several Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Awards and was most recently named 2019 Ohio Music Teachers Association Composer of the Year. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from the University of Tennessee and his doctorate in music composition from the University of Kentucky.

INDIVIDUAL ARTIST
Andy Snow, Photographer
Dayton (Montgomery)

Andy Snow has worked as a professional photographer for more than 40 years after becoming fascinated with photography while finishing his philosophy degree at Princeton University. There, under the guidance of documentary photographer Sol Libsohn and photography historian Peter Bunnell, Andy learned the practice and art of illuminating narrative with photography. In 1993, he chronicled his work for TIME, BusinessWeek, Newsweek, The New York Times, Forbes, and Fortune magazines in his book titled Location Photography Secrets. Following post-graduate studies at Ohio University and Antioch University, Andy expanded further into sound, film, video, and all things digital. He completed a self-designed master’s degree program at Antioch in digital media in 2005.

A documentarian at heart, Andy is mindful of revealing essence through light, shadow, and color while remaining receptive to any surprising interventions that might be chaos or perhaps synchronicity. His historic project, “Watershed, Then&Now,” commemorating the Great Flood of 1913 in the Miami Valley of Western Ohio, was honored as one of 20 “Best Projects of 2013” by the American Society of Media Photographers. He has worked with a variety of clients ranging from General Electric and Procter & Gamble to the City of Dayton and the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company.

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Article by Amanda Etchison, Communications Strategist
Featured Image: Design by Alan Jazak, Formation Studio. Artwork: "Euclid Beach" by Barry Underwood
Editor's Note: This story was updated to include details about the 2020 Governor's Awards for the Arts Virtual Celebration on May 10, 2021, at noon | Originally published: Jan. 9, 2020

Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Awards Announced

Tue, 11 Feb 2020 14:53:02 GMT

Members of the Ohio Arts Council (OAC) board have approved $375,000 in grant funding to be awarded to Ohio artists through the OAC’s Individual Excellence Awards program for state fiscal year 2020.

Individual Excellence Awards are peer recognition of a creative artist’s body of work that exemplifies their specific discipline and advances the larger artistic community. These awards support artists' growth and development and recognize their work in Ohio and beyond.

During this funding cycle, applications in choreography, criticism, fiction and non-fiction, music composition, playwriting/screenplays, and poetry were accepted. Each award is $5,000. The grants were approved at the OAC board’s winter meeting on Jan. 29.

Awarded through an open panel review process focused on the basis of exceptional merit of an artist’s past body of work, Individual Excellence Award funding gives artists the resources to experiment and explore their art forms, develop skills, and advance their careers.

“The Ohio Arts Council’s Individual Excellence Awards give artists the opportunity to be recognized and rewarded for their exemplary artistic achievements,” said OAC Executive Director Donna S. Collins. “Through their art, the individuals selected for these grants have expressed visionary ideas, spoken in a diversity of voices, and explored thought-provoking topics and themes from a variety of viewpoints. We congratulate the Individual Excellence Award recipients and thank them for enriching Ohio’s creative community.”

For a complete, filterable list of grant recipients, download the Excel spreadsheet here. For a PDF list of grant recipients, click here.

A list of Individual Excellence Award winners follows:

CHOREOGRAPHY

Alice Blumenfeld (Oberlin, Lorain County)
Kimberly Karpanty (Akron, Summit County)
Russell Lepley (Columbus, Franklin County)
Samuel McIntosh (South Euclid, Cuyahoga County)
Alysia Ramos (Oberlin, Lorain County)

CRITICISM

Melissa Barrett (Columbus, Franklin County)
Jeremy Glazier (Columbus, Franklin County)
Joel Oliphint (Columbus, Franklin County)

FICTION

Seth Borgen (Akron, Summit County)
Valerie Cumming (Westerville, Franklin County)
Terry Dubow (Cleveland Heights, Cuyahoga County)
Bradley Felver (Toledo, Lucas County)
Erin Flanagan (Kettering, Montgomery County)
Billy Hallal (Lakewood, Cuyahoga County)
Michelle Herman (Columbus, Franklin County)
Karen Frank Kotrba (Columbiana, Columbiana County)
Lee Martin (Grove City, Franklin County)
Lynda Montgomery (Shaker Heights, Cuyahoga County)
Susan Petrone (Cleveland, Cuyahoga County)
Robert Pope (Akron, Summit County)
Valli Jo Porter (Solon, Cuyahoga County)
Doug Ramspeck (Lima, Allen County)
Jason Sanford (Columbus, Franklin County)
Jamie Lyn Smith (Mount Vernon, Knox County)
Toni Thayer (Cleveland Heights, Cuyahoga County)
John Thorndike (Athens, Athens County)
Gina Ventre (University Heights, Cuyahoga County)

NON-FICTION

Sayuri Ayers (Columbus, Franklin County)
Amy Butcher (Delaware, Delaware County)
James Cummins (Cincinnati, Hamilton County)
James Fox (New Concord, Muskingum County)
David Hassler (Kent, Portage County)
Michael Loderstedt (Cleveland, Cuyahoga County)
Sarah Lohman (Cleveland, Cuyahoga County)
Joe Mackall (West Salem, Ashland County)
Sarah Minor (Cleveland Heights, Cuyahoga County)
Jenny Patton (Dublin, Delaware County)
Mary Quade (Madison, Lake County)
Eliza Smith (Columbus, Franklin County)

MUSIC COMPOSITION

Daniel Bruce (Lakewood, Cuyahoga County)
Christopher Coles (Cuyahoga Falls, Summit County)
Brian Harnetty (Columbus, Franklin County)
Mikel Kuehn (Sylvania, Lucas County)
Daniel McCarthy (Akron, Summit County)
Robert McClure (Athens, Athens County)
Jeffrey Mumford (Oberlin, Lorain County)
Adam Roberts (Akron, Summit County)

PLAYWRITING

George Brant (Cleveland Heights, Cuyahoga County)
Vera Brunner-Sung (screenwriting) (Columbus, Franklin County)
Anton Dudley (Mount Vernon, Knox County)
Thomas Hayes (Cleveland Heights, Cuyahoga County)
Les Hunter (Shaker Heights, Cuyahoga County)
Lisa Langford (Cleveland Heights, Cuyahoga County)
Faye Sholiton (Beachwood, Cuyahoga County)
Erik Sternberger (Westerville, Franklin County)

POETRY

Ruth Awad (Columbus, Franklin County)
Melissa Barrett (Columbus, Franklin County)
George Bilgere (Cleveland Heights, Cuyahoga County)
Schyler Butler (Columbus, Franklin County)
Akhim Cabey (Columbus, Franklin County)
Babette Cieskowski (Columbus, Franklin County)
James Ellenberger (Cincinnati, Hamilton County)
Becca J.R. Lachman (Athens, Athens County)
Paula J. Lambert (Columbus, Franklin County)
Keith Leonard (Columbus, Franklin County)
Rebecca Lindenberg (Cincinnati, Hamilton County)
Aimee Noel (Dayton, Montgomery County)
Douglas Ray (Cleveland Heights, Cuyahoga County)
Robin Beth Schaer (Wooster, Wayne County)
Meg Shevenock (Columbus, Franklin County)
Joel Showalter (Columbus, Franklin County)
Ann Townsend (Granville, Licking County)
Christina Veladota (Athens, Athens County)
LaWanda Walters (Cincinnati, Hamilton County)
Catherine Wing (Cleveland Heights, Cuyahoga County)

For more information about the OAC’s grant programs, visit oac.ohio.gov/grants.

ABOUT THE OHIO ARTS COUNCIL

The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. Connect with the OAC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or visit our website at oac.ohio.gov.

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Article by Amanda Etchison, Communications Strategist

Three Ohioans Awarded Creative Writing Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts

Thu, 16 Jan 2020 19:37:48 GMT

Three Ohio writers have been selected as recipients of 2020 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowships, each receiving $25,000 to support the development of new works of prose.

Renée Branum of Cincinnati, Claire Luchette of Cleveland Heights, and Brian Ascalon Roley of Montgomery were among 36 recipients awarded fellowships for federal Fiscal Year 2020.

A program launched by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1967, the Creative Writing Fellowships alternate each year between poetry and prose. This year, nearly 1,700 applications were submitted to the program seeking support for the development of prose, defined in a Thursday National Endowment for the Arts media release as “works of fiction and creative nonfiction, such as memoirs and personal essays.”

“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support our nation’s writers and translators and their efforts to expand our literary landscape through their artistry, creativity, and dedication,” said Mary Anne Carter, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Since its impetus, the Creative Writing Fellowship program has awarded more than 3,500 fellowships totaling more than $55 million, the release stated. The fellowships are often used by recipients to set aside time for writing, research, travel, or career and professional development opportunities.

"The literary talents of Ohio's writers showcase the unique voices and viewpoints that contribute to the creative spirit of our state," said Ohio Arts Council Executive Director Donna S. Collins. "The National Endowment for the Arts' support of individual artists living and working in Ohio is always greatly appreciated. We congratulate Renée, Claire, and Brian on receiving this tremendous honor."

Biographies for the Ohioans selected for fellowships follow:

Renée Branum | Cincinnati

Renée is a writer and writing instructor living in Cincinnati. She graduated with an MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of Montana in 2017. In 2013, she received an MFA in fiction from the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, where she was a Truman Capote Fellow and recipient of the Prairie Lights Jack Leggett Fiction Prize. Her work has appeared in publications such as The Georgia Review, Narrative Magazine, and The Gettysburg Review, with work forthcoming in Brevity and Alaska Quarterly Review. Her essay “Certainty” was awarded first prize in The Los Angeles Review’s Fall 2016 nonfiction contest, and her essay “Bolt” received first place recognition in The Florida Review’s 2017 editors’ awards. She received two Pushcart nominations for work published in 2017. Renée is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in fiction and working to complete her first novel. Learn more about Renée at damfino1895.wixsite.com/website.

Claire Luchette | Cleveland Heights

Claire is a writer whose first novel is forthcoming from FSG. Her short fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in VQR, Ploughshares, Granta, Kenyon Review, Glimmer Train, Iowa Review, and Indiana Review. Her story "New Bees" won a 2020 Pushcart Prize. Claire, a graduate of the MFA program at the University of Oregon who studied English at Brown, has received grants and scholarships from the MacDowell Colony, the Corporation of Yaddo, the Elizabeth George Foundation, the Millay Colony, Lighthouse Works, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She currently serves as the 2019-20 Hopkins post-graduate fellow in fiction at John Carroll University. Learn more about Claire at claireluchette.com.

Brian Ascalon Roley | Montgomery

Brian is a writer and professor whose books include the award-winning novel American Son (W.W. Norton; Christian Bourgeois Editeur), which was a Los Angeles Times best book, New York Times notable book, Kiriyama Pacific Rim Prize finalist, Salon Magazine best of the month selection, and winner of the Association for Asian American Studies Prose Book Award of 2003, among other honors. His fiction, literary essays, and poetry have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, and his collection, The Last Mistress of Jose Rizal and Other Stories, was released in April 2016. Brian, a 2018 Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award recipient, is currently a professor of English at Miami University of Ohio. Learn more about Brian at brianroley.weebly.com.

The announcement of the Creative Writing Fellowships comes a day after a news release announced that 25 Ohio arts organizations were awarded a total of $525,000 in arts projects grants from the National Endowment for the Arts for federal Fiscal Year 2020.

The next funding round for the National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowships program will be focused on poetry. The application deadline is March 11.

For more information, visit arts.gov.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS

Established by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the National Endowment for the Arts supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. Visit arts.gov to learn more.

ABOUT THE OHIO ARTS COUNCIL

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Article by Amanda Etchison, Communications Strategist

Ohio Arts Organizations Receive $525K from National Endowment for the Arts

Wed, 15 Jan 2020 20:21:41 GMT

Twenty-five Ohio arts organizations have been awarded federal funding through the National Endowment for the Arts’ Art Works and Challenge America grant programs, the National Endowment for the Arts announced in a media release on Wednesday.

The Ohio awards total $525,000, with individual grants ranging from $10,000 to $45,000 to support arts programs and initiatives throughout the state.

According to the release, Art Works grants, given in a variety of arts disciplines, “support artistically excellent projects that celebrate creativity and cultural heritage, invite mutual respect for differing beliefs and values, and enrich humanity.” Challenge America grants “offer support primarily to small and mid-sized organizations for projects that extend the reach of the arts to populations that have limited access to the arts due to geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability,” the release stated.

“Ohio is full of hard-working arts organizations and creative leaders who know that meaningful arts experiences have the power to change lives,” said Ohio Arts Council Executive Director Donna S. Collins. “The support of the National Endowment of the Arts is integral to empowering Ohio’s artistic visionaries to continue to excel in their work, pursue groundbreaking innovations, and share their passions. We express our heartfelt gratitude to the National Endowment for the Arts for its ongoing support of the arts in our state.”

In the release, the National Endowment for the Arts said 1,187 grants totaling $27.3 million were awarded during this round of federal Fiscal Year 2020 funding. Organizations in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, were awarded arts project grants.

“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support grants throughout the entire country that connect people through shared experiences and artistic expression,” said National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Mary Anne Carter in the release. “These projects provide access to the arts for people of all abilities and backgrounds in both urban centers and rural communities.”

A list of Ohio organizations receiving National Endowment for the Arts funding follows:

Cincinnati

Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati | Art Works – Musical Theatre ($10,000)
Cincinnati Ballet Company | Art Works – Dance ($10,000)
Cincinnati Opera Association | Art Works – Opera ($30,000)
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company | Art Works – Theatre ($15,000)
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra | Art Works – Music ($40,000)
Kennedy Heights Art Center | Challenge America ($10,000)

Cleveland

Apollo’s Fire Baroque Orchestra | Art Works – Music ($40,000)
Cleveland Institute of Music | Art Works – Music ($10,000)
Cleveland International Film Festival | Art Works – Media Arts ($20,000)
Cleveland Public Theatre | Art Works – Theatre ($15,000)
Cuyahoga Community College Foundation | Art Works – Dance ($15,000)
Cuyahoga Community College Foundation (on behalf of Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland) | Art Works – Music ($25,000)
DANCECleveland | Art Works – Dance ($30,000)
SPACES | Art Works – Visual Arts ($35,000)
The Cleveland Orchestra | Art Works – Music ($45,000)
Union Miles Development Corporation | Challenge America ($10,000)
West Side Community House | Art Works – Presenting & Multidisciplinary Works ($15,000)
Zygote Press | Art Works – Visual Arts ($25,000)

Columbus

BalletMet | Art Works – Dance ($10,000)
Columbus Museum of Art | Art Works – Museums ($45,000)
OhioDance | Art Works – Dance ($15,000)

Delaware

Central Ohio Symphony | Challenge America ($10,000)

Gambier

Kenyon Review | Art Works - Literary Arts ($15,000)

Springfield

Westcott House Foundation| Art Works - Design ($20,000)

Zanesfield

Mad River Theater Works | Art Works - Musical Theatre ($10,000)

To view a filterable spreadsheet with additional project details for each grant award, click here.

The National Endowment for the Arts is currently accepting applications for the next round of its Grants for Arts Projects and Challenge America programs. The application deadline for the Arts Projects category is Feb. 13, 2020, while the deadline for Challenge America is April 9, 2020.

For more information, visit arts.gov.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS

ABOUT THE OHIO ARTS COUNCIL

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Article by Amanda Etchison, Communications Strategist

Winners Announced for 2019 Biennial Juried Exhibition

Mon, 25 Nov 2019 18:40:19 GMT

Four exhibition awards were announced at the opening reception of the Ohio Arts Council’s (OAC) Riffe Gallery’s current show, the 2019 Biennial Juried Exhibition. The recipients of three Juror’s Choice Awards and one Best of Show Award were honored at the Nov. 10 event.

The third juried exhibition to be showcased in the OAC’s gallery in downtown Columbus, the 2019 Biennial Juried Exhibition features work by 62 artists from 18 counties across the state of Ohio. The show was juried by Sean FitzGibbons, Michelle Stitzlein, and Dr. Louis Zona.

FitzGibbons awarded his Juror’s Choice award to Greg Martin’s piece titled “all i want is to breathe,” which features two glass panes—each printed with a grayscale image—layered on top of each other. The alignment of the layers gives the wall-mounted piece the illusion of dimensionality. Martin, a South Euclid-based artist, recently had his work presented in another Riffe Gallery show, Duo Trio: Contemporary Diptychs and Triptychs by 14 Ohio Artists, which was on view Jan. 24 – April 13.

FitzGibbons, executive director of Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park in Hamilton, Ohio, said he thought the visual composition of Martin’s piece is enhanced by the expanded perspective made possible through the glass panels. He added that this element was what inspired him to select “all i want is to breathe” for his Juror’s Choice Award.

“Coming from the sculpture park and coming from a sculpture background, I was really intrigued with taking two-dimensional objects and creating depth,” FitzGibbons said during his opening reception remarks. “You can tell there was a sculptural process behind it. Overall, I thought this piece had very interesting subject matter and aesthetically, I liked it."

The next Juror’s Choice Award was given by Michelle Stitzlein, a Baltimore, Ohio, based artist who creates largescale colorful artworks with recycled materials and found objects. In her remarks at the opening reception, Stitzlein said she was searching for exquisite technique and vibrant personal expression when making her Juror’s Choice Award selection. She said she found these elements in C.R. Houghton’s “Whirlaway.”

“It’s clean, it’s crisp, it’s simple, and it grabs you,” Stitzlein said of Houghton’s piece, which depicts opaque red lines drawn in tangled loops and set against a stark white background. “I don’t think we see too many bold pieces that scale and that fresh. I was really taken with that piece … and I was happy to see it in person because it spoke to me."

The third Juror’s Choice Award was given by Dr. Louis Zona, executive director of the Butler Institute of American Art, and awarded to Frank Oriti for his piece titled “Man with a Golden Mustache.” Oriti’s hyperrealist portrait features a blue-eyed man staring down the viewer from under the red bill of a baseball cap. The oil-on-panel piece is so incredibly detailed to the point that viewers can pick out individual facial hairs on the subject’s face.

An international-award-winning painter born and raised in Cleveland, Oriti draws inspiration from his time working at a steel mill and often depicts the blue-color workforce of industrial Northeast Ohio in his work. “Man with a Golden Mustache” is one of two pieces Oriti has in the 2019 Biennial Juried Exhibition. His black-and-white oil-on-panel painting, “King Neto,” was also selected for the show.

The exhibition’s Best of Show Award was given to Cincinnati artist Casey Dressell for her piece, “Light Reappears.” Depicting a playful pastel-hued scene, this painting connects with Dressell’s focus on viewers’ response to changes in their environment and the stories contained in the objects that surround them.

Discussing the process of selecting a Best of Show Award winner, Stitzlein said she and FitzGibbons searched for work that had “a voice and … was able to express it.” “Light Reappears,” she said, had this and more.

“It was interesting to see the piece in person because I was surprised that it had so much texture and was complex in its own way,” Stitzlein said in her reception remarks. “In this piece, Casey saw what was beautiful about putting the paint and texture on the piece and was able to step back and left it that way. She didn’t over-primp this up … She left it, and it’s beautiful that way. She has created something special.”

Guests can view these award-winning pieces and more in the 2019 Biennial Juried Exhibition at the OAC Riffe Gallery, on view through Jan. 10, 2020. Visitors will also have the opportunity to vote for their favorite artwork in the show. The pieces that get the most votes each week will be shared on the gallery’s social media accounts until the end of the show.

A schedule of gallery programming including artist talks, an artmaking workshop, and a creative writing workshop are offered in conjunction with the exhibition. Admission to the gallery and all events and programs is free open to the public. Visit riffegallery.org for more information.

ABOUT THE RIFFE GALLERY
The Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery showcases the work of Ohio's artists and the collections of the state's museums and galleries. The Riffe Gallery is located in the Vern Riffe Center for Government and the Arts, across from the Statehouse on High Street in Downtown Columbus. Like the Riffe Gallery on Facebook and follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

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Article by Alexa Demyan, 2018-19 OAC Riffe Gallery Marketing and Exhibitions Fellow
Featured photo: Artists, curators, and Ohio Arts Council staff at the opening reception of the 2019 Biennial Juried Exhibition at the Ohio Arts Council's Riffe Gallery. Photo by Katie Monahan, Communications Strategist.

Albert Paley Sculpture Dedicated on University of Cincinnati Campus

Thu, 29 Aug 2019 13:51:14 GMT

Six years ago, Albert Paley’s “Progression,” a 44-foot-wide landscape sculpture composed of carefully cut sheets of white-painted steel that deceptively look as light as paper, perched on a plot of grass across from New York City’s Seagram Building as part of an outdoor exhibition spanning 15 blocks along Park Avenue.

Now, Paley’s work has a new home, moving from Midtown Manhattan to a Midwestern campus to settle in front of the University of Cincinnati’s Health Sciences Building.

Paley, who creates work in his Rochester, New York, studio, is known internationally for his metalwork, sculptures, and large-scale commissions. A graduate of the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia, Paley began his career as a goldsmith. He has completed projects for London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, the Toledo Museum of Art, the Cleveland Botanical Garden, and the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. In 2013, Paley completed 13 sculptures—including “Progression”—which were created specifically for his Paley on Park Avenue exhibition. The sculptures were installed in New York City between 52^nd and 67^th Streets and were on view from June 14 through Nov. 8, 2013.

During a dedication ceremony for “Progression” hosted at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Allied Health Sciences on Aug. 22, 2019, Paley shared that all his work is meant to add to viewers’ experiences and encourage discussion and examination of personal meaning. Whether displayed in a massive metropolis or on a medical campus, his sculptures should bring attention to a location and moment in time, he added.

“For me, art is basically founded in the aspect of humanism. Having pieces in a public arena, in an institution like this that engages education, is extremely important,” Paley said. “What people think and feel has to do with the experiences that they have, and art affords unique experiences to personalize those perceptions and understanding.”

This artistic intent, Paley said, isn’t so different than the overall college experience. Everyone comes with their own experiences and contexts that ultimately shape how one interprets new information, he explained.

“This is what education is about. You present something to somebody that they haven’t experienced before, and it changes their perception,” Paley said. “Each individual has his or her own interpretation based on their experience, and it varies greatly. It’s like a score of music. You are putting out an experience to somebody and they articulate it however they do.”

Situated on a verdant lawn at the intersection of several walking paths, “Progression” is hard to miss. With a maximum height of 9 feet 4 inches, its curved edges arc toward the sky, casting shadows on the denser overlapping elements closer to the base. Inspired by a lithograph created by Paley in 1999, the sculpture is a three-dimensional collage of geometric and organic forms that, although stationary, infers properties of motion and gesture through the artist’s use of positive and negative space.

The sculpture’s immediate visual impact is something that appealed to those at the University of Cincinnati charged with selecting the perfect piece to complement the newly finished Health Sciences Building, a four-story, 117,000-square-foot center that contains classrooms, labs, and offices. The building’s addition is part of the university’s “Medical Campus Master Plan Project,” according to a media release by the College of Allied Health Sciences.

“Progression” was commissioned through the Ohio Percent for Art program, which provides funds for works of art for new or renovated public buildings with appropriations of more than $4 million. The Percent for Art legislation, which became effective July 1, 1990, provides that 1 percent of the total appropriation is allocated for the acquisition, commissioning, and installation of artwork.

“‘Progression’ makes a great partner to the architecture around it,” said John K. Seibert, director of project management and interim associate vice president of the University of Cincinnati Planning + Design + Construction team. “Its scale and impact on the green space really enhances the experience.”

At the dedication ceremony, Ohio Arts Council Board Chair Ginger Warner reflected on the significance of the sculpture’s title as a promise to promote progress through innovation. It’s a timely topic that is currently at the forefront of a broader university mission to focus on the future, she said.

“Albert is known for the beauty of his work and, particularly, for his visual vocabulary. I think ‘Progression’ is very uniquely named. It fits in to the University of Cincinnati because for the next several years, we want to focus on the idea that ‘next lives here,’” said Warner, who also serves on the University of Cincinnati’s Board of Trustees. “Congratulations to the University of Cincinnati for bringing about the acquisition and installation of this incredible piece, and congratulations to Albert for creating this magnificent work that will inspire students and faculty and visitors to our university for years to come.”

Concluding his presentation at the dedication ceremony, Paley stopped to stare at his sculpture sitting in its new surroundings while pondering a question suggested by an audience member: What message does he want students to take away from this piece?

“When you think about ‘Progression,’ besides the visual progression of form, there’s also the progression of perception. When you experience something, it defines who you are and your understanding, and then when we have other experiences, that changes,” he said. “What I think and feel does not make much of difference. So many people say, ‘What does this mean? What am I supposed to know from this?’ It should be the other way around. It should be, ‘What does it mean to you?’”

“Progression” is located in front of the Health Sciences Building, 3225 Eden Ave., on the University of Cincinnati campus.

Learn more about Paley and his work at albertpaley.com.

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Article by Amanda Etchison, Communications Strategist

Ohio Arts Council Board Approves More Than $14.7M in Arts Grants

Tue, 23 Jul 2019 20:47:11 GMT

The Ohio Arts Council (OAC) board has approved $14,733,107 in grants to support Ohio artists, organizations, students, educators, and public arts programming during its initial and major state fiscal year 2020 funding round.

The board approved 743 grants when it met publicly on July 17 for its summer board meeting.

OAC Executive Director Donna S. Collins said the grant awards help arts organizations, educators, and artists throughout the state strengthen Ohio’s creative economy and enrich communities through the arts.

“We are honored to award these grants to the phenomenal arts organizations, art educators, and artists who work to champion the arts in Ohio,” she said. “Our state is rich in artistic ingenuity, creative collaboration, and passionate individuals who know firsthand the positive impact of the arts.”

The 743 grants awarded during this funding round are an important step toward the fulfillment of the agency’s ongoing commitment to directly fund arts and culture initiatives taking place in all 88 Ohio counties, something it has been able to do for the past two biennia.

Collins said a commitment to providing statewide support of the arts is more important than ever following the announcement of an historic $34.5 million allocated to the OAC through the 2020-21 state budget—a $5 million increase in funding from last biennium.

“We are very grateful to Governor Mike DeWine, and members of the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate, for their support of public funding for the arts through the state budget’s appropriation to the Ohio Arts Council,” she said. “As we conclude a grant application cycle that saw a record-setting number of requests for funding, we are thrilled that support from our state’s governor and legislators ensures that more public dollars will be spent over the next two years on grants for the arts in Ohio.”

For a complete, filterable list of grant recipients, download the Excel spreadsheet here. To view all grants awarded this funding round as a PDF, click here.

Operating Support

Sustainability supports ongoing arts and cultural activities in all genres. Awards support the largest and most administratively sophisticated organizations in the state's arts and culture ecosystem. This four-year funding supports a wide range of the state's arts providers that are positioning Ohio as a national leader in creativity, artistry, and cultural wealth.
- Large Organizations: 40 grants totaling $7,616,964
- Mid-Sized Organizations: 264 grants totaling $4,126,315

Arts Access supports ongoing arts and cultural activities in all genres that broaden opportunities for the general public to participate in the arts. This flexible two-year funding provides general operating support for small organizations.
- 51 grants totaling $156,926

Project Support

ArtSTART provides accessible funding to help organizations complete short-term projects. Most awards support the programming of new or emerging organizations, first-time OAC applicants, and organizations in areas not served by other arts providers.
- 156 grants totaling $370,020

ArtsNEXT provides competitive funding for innovative and experimental projects. These forward-looking projects help define Ohio as an exciting, cutting-edge place to make, consume, and experience the arts.
- 55 grants totaling $422,889

Arts Learning

Arts Partnership supports arts education projects that address the needs of individual learners and their communities. By supporting these projects and programs, the OAC aims to strengthen arts education locally, regionally, and statewide.
- 79 grants totaling $797,979

TeachArtsOhio brings schools and community organizations together with teaching artists to share engaging, personal, high-quality arts learning experiences.
- 50 grants totaling $880,800

Individual Artists

Traditional Arts Apprenticeships provide support for master artists to work with apprentices to build understanding and proficiency in folk and traditional art forms. These awards support the teaching and sharing of important cultural traditions and enrich the lives of Ohioans.
- 14 grants totaling $35,997

Ohio Artists on Tour

The Ohio Artists on Tour program enables Ohio organizations to tap into the creative potential of performing artists and ensembles to enrich their programming and the vitality of their communities.
- 28 grants totaling $113,008

Statewide Arts Service Organization Support

Statewide Arts Service Organizations (SASO) are qualifying organizations that provide statewide professional services to arts and cultural organizations. These organizations often serve as critical partners as they, along with their members or constituents, support the OAC's mission to strengthen Ohio communities through the arts. Statewide Arts Service Organizations are eligible to receive OAC support in a way that honors their unique and valuable contributions to Ohio’s arts sector.
- 6 grants totaling $212,209

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Article by Amanda Etchison, Communications Strategist

Exhibition Shows Important Issues Seen Through Students’ Lenses

Tue, 04 Jun 2019 12:28:00 GMT

When Erin Seccia, a senior at Kings High School in Kings Mills, Ohio, heard that her school was offering a course in “retro photography,” her interest was immediately piqued.

“As an eighth-grader, I was like, ‘Oh! What’s that? I’m into that,’” she said, recalling enrolling in the class her freshman year. “That (title) made a lot of people want to take it.”

But by the end of the semester, Seccia determined that the class’s name, while intriguing, didn’t do the art form justice. Through her work in the darkroom, she found that analog photography isn’t something confined to a past decade.

“Film is not dead,” said Seccia, who is planning to attend the University of Cincinnati in the fall with a major in graphic design and a minor in Spanish. “It’s so much more than just snapping a photo on digital.”

Seccia isn’t alone in her stance on the subject. In fact, bringing film to the forefront of photographic instruction is exactly what two Ohio organizations hope to share with students through the Cleveland Print Room’s Project Snapshot and Manifest Drawing Center’s Envision Project.

For 16 weeks, Seccia and other Cincinnati-area students enrolled in Manifest’s program, where they mastered the fundamentals of analog photography while exploring visual storytelling through black-and-white prints. Meanwhile, about 200 miles away in Cleveland, students participating in Project Snapshot were receiving similar instruction, learning how to process film and take photos using Pentax 35mm cameras.

The results of these endeavors were displayed in the third annual Ohio Civil Rights Commission Youth Art Exhibition, an annual photography show presented in partnership with the Ohio Arts Council (OAC) and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC). Focusing on a theme of contemporary civil rights issues, selected photos by 30 students from both programs were installed in the Commission’s office in the Rhodes State Office Tower, where they will be displayed for a year.

“It is truly amazing to see how much this program has grown over the past three years. This exhibition, which started out as an idea for creative collaboration by OAC board member and OCRC commissioner Juan Cespedes, has blossomed into a beautiful partnership that allows talented young artists from two corners of our state to come together to create something meaningful,” said OAC Executive Director Donna S. Collins. “Through their reflections on the issues impacting their daily lives, these students teach us how an open mind and willingness to expose ourselves to new experiences can make us all more compassionate and considerate individuals.”

Maya Peroune, a sophomore from Shaker Heights High School who participated in the Cleveland Print Room’s Project Snapshot this year, said the program changed her view on subjects such as homelessness. She recalled chatting with one of her subjects, a man named James, while taking his photo and reflected on the story he shared with her.

“He started telling me about his life and everything, and I found out he was a Vietnam veteran,” she said. “Most people, when they see someone on the street asking for money, they think it’s a scam and they’re not really trying to work for anything, but he’s on the street and he’s a veteran. It gave me a lot of respect for people who are homeless.”

Peroune’s second photo in the exhibition depicts her friend’s struggles with self-identity and how she grew from the experience.

“I took this picture because it is like she is trying to find something. My friend was going through depression, she was trying to figure out her sexuality, and I wanted to embody her trying to find herself in this picture,” Peroune said. “I wanted to show in this picture that she has found who she is, and she is beyond that.”

Seccia’s photos also aim to convey messages surrounding issues impacting her peers. The two pieces selected for the show are portraits of her friends paired with images of objects that she felt encapsulated causes about which they are passionate.

“(Maura) is going to be famous one day,” Seccia said, pointing to a photo of her friend while complimenting her writing. “She cares about women’s issues, and just everything surrounding feminism …. I really wanted to illustrate her as who she is and the issue that she cares about juxtaposed with the book because she is a writer.”

Her second piece shows her friend Shawn showing off one of his impeccable makeup looks. The photo is accompanied by the words “beauty knows no gender.”

“I kind of cut that off to leave people wondering, ‘what does that say?’ because I wanted people to stand there and look at it and dig deeper into it,” Seccia said. “Shawn loves to experiment with makeup. He always has a new eye look on, and it is so impressive. I love how he isn’t afraid to be who he is.”

From race relations and immigration to mental illness, LGBTQ rights, and the oversaturated news cycle, the exhibition addresses a variety of topics. Through accompanying artist statements posted next to their work, the students provided insight into their process and intention.

In his remarks during the exhibition’s opening reception on May 17, Ohio Civil Rights Commission Executive Director G. Michael Payton commended the students on their work and their motivation to bring important issues to light.

“There’s a lesson in all of these photos here, and I think the lesson is that when you pursue excellence, good things will happen to you. Whether you decide to be a photographer, a mayor, whatever it is, it’s about applying yourself on a day-to-day basis,” he said. “I am honored to be a leader of an organization that has this gallery because these images talk about what my agency does, and that is to address civil rights concerns. It is emulated through the photos you have taken.”

For more information about the Cleveland Print Room or Manifest Drawing Center, visit clevelandprintroom.com and manifestgallery.org.

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Article by Amanda Etchison, Communications Strategist
Featured photo: A student looks at artwork on display in the Ohio Civil Rights Commission's office lobby in Columbus. Photo by Katie Monahan, Communications Strategist

Governor's Awards 2019: Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, Arts Education Award Winner

Fri, 31 May 2019 13:38:33 GMT

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati (ETC) was founded in 1986 on a belief that the arts make neighborhoods thrive. For more than 30 years, ETC has built a reputation for exceptional artistic leadership and engaging community-centered programming. ETC presents some of the most exciting new plays in its region, and as a pillar in Cincinnati’s arts community, it continues to play an essential role in leading Over-the-Rhine’s thriving urban arts district.

ETC’s artistic focus is to premiere socially conscious plays that drive important community conversations and to hire professional artists who want to call Cincinnati home (for the long run). It provides theatre education programs that enrich young minds and prioritize inclusivity, diversity, and access, creating pathways to successful professional careers for the next generation of artists while growing the local talent pool.

ABOUT THE GOVERNOR’S AWARDS FOR THE ARTS IN OHIO
Since its beginning in 1971, the Governor’s Awards for the Arts in Ohio has recognized individuals and organizations who have been vital to the growth and development of Ohio’s cultural resources. Each year, the public is invited to nominate individuals and organizations in eight award categories. The program is presented by the Ohio Arts Council and the Ohio Citizens for the Arts Foundation, a nonprofit arts organization.

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Video by the Ohio Channel

Governor's Awards 2019: Sallie and Randolph Wadsworth, Arts Patron Award Winners

Thu, 30 May 2019 12:59:14 GMT

Sallie Robinson Wadsworth and Randolph “Duck” Wadsworth have made an impact on Greater Cincinnati through their legacy of philanthropic support in the visual arts, music, and theatre communities. Although Sallie passed away on Nov. 22, 2017, Duck, who taught English literature at Miami University, continues to passionately support the arts. In 2013, the Sallie Robinson Wadsworth Endowment for Exhibitions was developed as part of the Taft Museum of Art’s $12 million endowment campaign. Sallie and Duck have also supported the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Duck currently serves on the board of Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and as director emeritus at the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Sallie served on the boards of many organizations, including the Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati, and volunteered with the Special Projects Pool of the Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts (now ArtsWave).

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Video by the Ohio Channel

National Endowment for the Arts Awards More Than $1 Million to Ohio Arts Council

Wed, 15 May 2019 19:29:58 GMT

The Ohio Arts Council (OAC) has received a state and regional partnership agreement grant exceeding $1 million from the National Endowment for the Arts. This has been an agency goal for the past few funding cycles.

OAC Executive Director Donna S. Collins announced the news at the 2019 Arts Day and Governor’s Awards for the Arts in Ohio luncheon held May 15 at the Columbus Athenaeum.

The OAC will receive $1,007,950 to help support arts initiatives throughout the state. This is the fifth-highest National Endowment for the Arts grant awarded to the OAC in the agency’s 54-year history.

It also marks the 10^th year in a row that Ohio has received one of the three largest grants for state arts agencies in the country from the NEA, securing more grant funding than larger states including Florida, New York, Illinois, and Pennsylvania.

“We are always grateful for our partnership agreement grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and continued federal support of the arts in Ohio,” Collins said. “Receiving more than $1 million this year is an exciting accomplishment for the Ohio Arts Council—and a recognition of Ohio’s renowned arts organizations and artists.”

The NEA allocates grant money based on each state’s population and the merit of the work done by its state arts agency. In Ohio, all federal funding is reinvested as grants to help individuals and organizations pursue artistic endeavors.

“Every dollar we earn from the National Endowment for the Arts is invested in the arts statewide through our grantees,” Collins said. “Given the size of our award, that means more of our federal tax dollars are being put back to work and reinvested in the Buckeye State.”

In addition to the state partnership grant, the NEA also awarded a total of $403,000 in direct grants to 15 arts-related organizations in Ohio.

A complete list of Ohio NEA grant recipients in this funding cycle follows:

Statewide

Ohio Arts Council: $1,007,950

Akron

National Center for Choreography at the University of Akron: $20,000

Cincinnati

ArtWorks: $50,000
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company: $10,000
Contemporary Arts Center: $35,000
The Manuel D. and Rhoda Mayerson Foundation: $25,000

Cleveland

Cleveland Clinic Foundation: $88,000
GroundWorks DanceTheater: $15,000
Morgan Conservatory: $20,000
Playhouse Square Foundation: $20,000
The Dancing Wheels Company and School: $15,000

Dayton

Dayton Performing Arts Alliance: $10,000

Toledo

Toledo Museum of Art: $30,000
Toledo Opera Association: $10,000

West Chester

Women of Color Quilters Network: $40,000

Westerville

Otterbein University: $15,000

For more information about these recipients and their projects, click here to download a complete, filterable list of awards.

To see a full list of all grants awarded to all states or U.S. jurisidctions during the NEA’s FY 2019 spring grant announcement, click here.

For more information about the National Endowment for the Arts’ grant programs, visit arts.gov.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS
Established by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the Arts Endowment supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. Visit arts.gov to learn more.

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Article by Amanda Etchison, Communications Strategist

Fiber Arts in the Ohio Arts Council's Riffe Gallery

Wed, 01 May 2019 14:02:46 GMT

The Ohio Arts Council’s (OAC) Riffe Gallery will open its newest exhibition, Thread Count: The Intersection of Mathematics and Fiber Arts, on Thursday, May 2. This exhibition features work by 13 contemporary fiber artists from the state of Ohio. These artists have created work featuring a variety of materials, shapes, and sizes.

Featured artists include Deborah Bewley (Bowling Green), Sandra Palmer Ciolino (Cincinnati), Judy Kahle (Wauseon), Aimee Lee (Cleveland), John Lefelhocz (Athens), Janice Lessman-Moss (Kent), Migiwa Orimo (Yellow Springs), Christina Pereyma (Troy), Jessica Pinsky (Cleveland), Ian Ruffino (Columbus), Judy Rush (Bexley), Petra Soesemann (Cleveland Heights), and Mary VanWassenhove (Columbus).

Artwork in Thread Count varies by artist and medium. One artist, VanWassenhove, will be exhibiting an interactive piece which highlights the practice of meditation through the geometric principle of Aristotle’s Golden Mean. This philosophy is known as “the desirable middle between two extremes, mathematically defined as two quantities that have the same ratio to one another as the sum of their parts has to the larger quantity (a+b is to a as a is to b, with a being the larger quantity),” said Jane A. Black in her curatorial comments. Guests are invited to sit and meditate on a hand-tufted rug below a suspended intersection of fabric rectangles.

Another artist, Pereyma, implements themes of finance and human understanding into her work. “Responding to the 2015 Harvard Business Review study that states insertion of a graph in a presentation increased its believability by 23 percent, Pereyma explores the trust we assign to mathematical data, whether we understand it or not,” Black said of Pereyma’s piece. Pereyma’s piece, Financial Data: winners, losers, stumbling emerging, capital flows, M1 and M2, posting outsize, one day moves, EBITDA, seasonally adjusted, fixed, steadied, moving average, resistance lines, upbeat chatter (2018). The piece features a variety of seemingly mathematical graphs, which Pereyma intentionally leaves ambiguous, providing no numerical statements or explanations. She seems to do this with the purpose of emphasizing man’s trust and interest in graphical data.

Many of the artists featured in Thread Count will also lead fiber arts-themed programming. Registration is suggested for most events and required for some. Continue reading for more information.

The opening reception for Thread Count will be Thursday, May 2, 5 – 7 p.m. Guests can enjoy local art, thoughtful conversations, and delicious refreshments at the event. Live music will be provided by local band The Knot Duo. Registration is not necessary. Feel free to stop by anytime between 5 – 7 p.m.

Friday, May 3 from noon – 1 p.m. is Black’s curator’s tour. This event is an excellent opportunity to learn more about the specific artworks in the exhibition and Black’s curatorial process. Registrations are suggested. Visit riffegallery.org to reserve your spot.

Two drop-in workshops will be offered throughout the exhibition. These workshops are open to 15 participants and feature 30-45 minutes of instruction, followed by a time of hands-on art creation. The first is Aimee Lee’s Hanji thread workshop on Wednesday, May 8, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. In this workshop, participants will create a thread from a sheet of Korean hanji, then use the thread to knit, crochet, or weave an artwork that fits in the palm of their hands. Registrations are suggested. Visit riffegallery.org for more information.

The exhibition’s next drop-in workshop features instructor Jessica Pinsky. She will be leading participants in a drop-spindle workshop where they will create their own yarn. This beginner technique allows one to blend colors and fibers together to create custom, hand-spun yarn. Registrations suggested. Visit riffegallery.org.

For a kid-friendly hands-on event, look no further than Judy Rush’s friends and family workshop on Saturday, May 18, 1 – 3 p.m. Participants will create a keepsake item in felt while encapsulating a message into a ball of fibers. Participants will attach a felted cord and turn their memento into a piece of jewelry or a keychain. Space is limited, so please register at riffegallery.org. Participants of all ages are welcome to join this artmaking fun!

Two artist talks will take place during the run of the exhibition as well. The first is an artist talk with Janice Lessman-Moss on Wednesday, June 5, noon – 1 p.m. The second is an artist talk with Petra Soesemann on Wednesday, June 12, noon – 1 p.m. Guests will learn more about each artist’s background and art creation process and will have an opportunity to participate in a Q&A session at the end. Registration is not required for these events, but guests are encouraged to arrive early to secure a parking spot and seat in the gallery.

The final event of the exhibition is a creative writing workshop with Rikki Santer on Thursday, June 27, 5:30 – 8 p.m. Participants will expand their creative writing skills through exercises and discussion with Santer, an award-winning poet. Registrations are required. Visit riffegallery.org.

Thread Count: The Intersection of Mathematics and Fiber Arts will be on display at the OAC Riffe Gallery May 2 – July 6, 2019. Admission to the gallery and all events is free and open to the public. For more information, visit riffegallery.org or call 614-644-9624. The gallery is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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78 Artists Receive Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Awards

Tue, 26 Mar 2019 13:56:46 GMT

Board members of the Ohio Arts Council (OAC) approved Individual Excellence Awards for state fiscal year 2019 during a public meeting on March 20.

Individual Excellence Awards are peer recognition of artists for the exceptional merit of a body of their work that advances or exemplifies the discipline and the larger artistic community. These awards support artists’ growth and development and recognize their work in Ohio and beyond.

Seventy-eight artists will receive funding for 75 applications—three of which were collaborations. Awarded through an open panel review process focused on the basis of exceptional merit of an artist’s past body of work, Individual Excellence Award funding gives artists the resources to experiment and explore their art forms, develop skills, and advance their careers.

During this funding cycle, applications in crafts, design arts/illustration, interdisciplinary (i.e., collaborative and performance art), media arts, photography, visual arts 2D, and visual arts 3D were accepted. Each award is $5,000. (Collaborative winners split the award equally.)

“These awards honor the artistic excellence of individuals who are sharing their creative talents with Ohio,” said OAC Executive Director Donna S. Collins. “The Ohio Arts Council’s 2019 Individual Excellence Awards represent the highest level of achievement in these artistic disciplines, and each year the diversity and caliber of applications is astounding. The impressive group of artists receiving awards this year proves that amazing work is being done in the arts throughout Ohio.”

For a complete, filterable list of grant recipients, download the Excel spreadsheet here.

A list of Individual Excellence Award winners follows:

ATHENS

Melissa Haviland (Athens) – Visual Arts 2D
Alex Hibbitt (Athens) – Crafts
Matt Wedel (Albany) – Visual Arts 3D

CUYAHOGA

Judith Brandon (Cleveland) – Visual Arts 2D
Steve Cagan (Cleveland Heights) – Photography
Amy Casey (Cleveland) – Visual Arts 2D
Kristen Cliffel (Cleveland) – Crafts
Ryan Dewey (Cleveland) – Visual Arts 3D
Thomas Frontini (Cleveland) – Visual Arts 2D
Sarah Kabot (Cleveland Heights) – Visual Arts 3D
Mimi Kato (Cleveland Heights) – Visual Arts 2D
Gregory Martin (South Euclid) – Photography
Paul O’Keeffe (Cleveland Heights) – Visual Arts 3D
Dana Oldfather Darling (Newburgh Heights) – Visual Arts 2D
Kristina Paabus (Cleveland) – Visual Arts 2D
Sarah Paul (Cleveland) – Media Arts
Kari Russell-Pool Petrovic (Euclid) – Crafts
Deborah Silver (Cleveland Heights) – Visual Arts 2D
Corrie Slawson (Cleveland Heights) – Visual Arts 2D
Rachel Smith (Strongsville) – Crafts
Petra Soesemann (Cleveland Heights) – Visual Arts 2D
Judy Takacs (Solon) – Visual Arts 2D
Barry Underwood (Cleveland Heights) – Photography
Lauren Yeager (Lakewood) – Visual Arts 3D

FRANKLIN

Christopher Burk (Columbus) – Visual Arts 2D
Susan Cavanaugh (Columbus) – Crafts
Daric Gill (Columbus) – Visual Arts 2D
Glen Holland (Columbus) – Visual Arts 2D
Jessie Horning (Columbus) – Visual Arts 2D
Morris Jackson (Columbus) – Visual Arts 2D
Lynda McClanahan (Columbus) – Visual Arts 2D
Cody Miller (Columbus) – Visual Arts 2D
Mike Olenick (Columbus) – Media Arts
Joshua Penrose (Columbus) – Interdisciplinary
Julie Rae Powers (Columbus) – Photography
Dani ReStack (Columbus) – Interdisciplinary⁺
Sheilah ReStack (Columbus) – Interdisciplinary⁺
Boryana Rusenova Ina (Columbus) – Visual Arts 2D
Laura Sanders (Columbus) – Visual Arts 2D
Jennifer Schlueter (Columbus) – Interdiscplinary^{^}
Suzanne Silver (Columbus) – Visual Arts 2D
Matt Slaybaugh (Columbus) – Interdisciplinary^{^}
Ryland Wharton (Worthington) – Visual Arts 3D

+ denotes collaboration
^ denotes collaboration

GREENE

Justin Teilhet (Yellow Springs) – Crafts

HAMILTON

Kimberly Burleigh (Cincinnati) – Media Arts
Kate Kern (Cincinnati) – Interdisciplinary
Guy Michael Davis (Cincinnati) – Visual Arts 3D*
Katie Parker (Cincinnati) – Visual Arts 3D*
Alice Pixley Young (Cincinnati) – Interdisciplinary
Marlene Steele (Cincinnati) – Visual Arts 2D
Erick Stoll (Cincinnati) – Media Arts

*denotes collaboration

KNOX

Karen Snouffer (Gambier) – Visual Arts 2D

LICKING

Abram Kaplan (Granville) – Photography

LORAIN

Donna Coleman (Oberlin) – Visual Arts 2D

LUCAS

Jordan Buschur (Maumee) – Visual Arts 2D
Deborah Orloff (Sylvania) – Photography
Zac Weinberg (Maumee) – Crafts
Lynn Whitney (Waterville) – Photography

MADISON

Tracy Greenwalt (London) – Visual Arts 2D

MAHONING

Stephen Chalmers (Boardman) – Photography

MONTGOMERY

Glenna Jennings (Dayton) – Photography
Suki Kwon (Oakwood) – Crafts
Tracy Longley-Cook (Dayton) – Photography
Eleanor Moseman (Dayton) - Photography

PORTAGE

Chanjuan Chen (Kent) – Design Arts
Mahwish Chishty (Kent) – Interdisciplinary
Peter Christian Johnson (Kent) – Crafts
Amber Kempthorn (Hiram) – Visual Arts 2D
Keith Lemley (Kent) – Visual Arts 3D
Jenniffer Omaitz (Kent) – Visual Arts 3D
Christine Zuercher (Kent) – Photography

SHELBY

Maureen O’Keefe (Sidney) – Visual Arts 2D

STARK

Oxana Dallas (Canton) – Crafts
Coty Giannelli (Waynesburg) – Photography

SUMMIT

Dave Szalay (Richfield) – Design Arts
Laura Vinnedge (Akron) – Visual Arts 2D
Casey Vogt (Akron) – Visual Arts 2D

WOOD

Erwin Redl (Bowling Green) – Visual Arts 3D

For more information about the OAC’s grant programs, visit oac.ohio.gov/grants.

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Article by Amanda Etchison, Communications Strategist

National Endowment for the Arts Awards $565K to Ohio Recipients

Wed, 13 Feb 2019 16:51:34 GMT

Twenty-nine Ohio recipients have been awarded grants through the National Endowment for the Arts’ (NEA) Art Works, Challenge America, and Creative Writing Fellowship programs.

Through Art Works and Challenge America, $540,000 has been awarded to 28 nonprofit arts organizations throughout the state. Additionally, Hugh Martin of Athens, Ohio, was awarded a $25,000 Creative Writing Fellowship. Martin was one of just 35 individuals chosen for this fellowship and is a first-time recipient of this award.

“The National Endowment for the Arts is a valued partner in supporting the work of Ohio’s artistic and creative leaders,” said Ohio Arts Council Executive Director Donna S. Collins. “Every day, these 29 grantees from around the state are engaging audiences and inspiring others through meaningful and impactful arts experiences. We are grateful for the National Endowment for the Arts’ support of the arts in Ohio.”

More than $27 million in grants were awarded in total during this first round of funding announcements, with recipients in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

“The arts enhance our communities and our lives, and we look forward to seeing these projects take place throughout the country, giving Americans opportunities to learn, to create, to heal, and to celebrate,” said Mary Anne Carter, acting chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.

A complete list of Ohio NEA grant recipients follows:

Athens

Hugh Martin: $25,000

Chagrin Falls

Fevered Dreams Productions (aka Chagrin Documentary Film Festival): $20,000

Cincinnati

Cincinnati Ballet Company, Inc.: $10,000
Cincinnati Opera Association: $30,000
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park: $10,000
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra: $40,000

Cleveland

Center for Arts-Inspired Learning: $10,000
Cleveland International Film Festival, Inc.: $20,000
Cleveland Modern Dance Association (aka DANCECleveland): $25,000
Cleveland Play House: $15,000
Cleveland Public Theatre, Inc.: $15,000
Community Partnership for Arts and Culture: $10,000
Cuyahoga Community College Foundation: $20,000
Cuyahoga Community College Foundation (on behalf of Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland): $20,000
L.A.N.D. studio, Inc.: $25,000
Musical Arts Association (aka The Cleveland Orchestra): $40,000
SPACES: $30,000
Zygote Press, Inc.: $20,000

Cleveland Heights

Apollo's Fire, The Cleveland Baroque Orchestra: $35,000

Columbus

Ballet Metropolitan, Inc. (aka BalletMet): $15,000
Columbus Museum of Art: $20,000
OhioDance: $10,000
Opera Association of Central Ohio (aka Opera Columbus): $20,000
Wexner Center Foundation: $15,000

Dayton

Muse Machine: $20,000

Delaware

Central Ohio Symphony, Inc.: $10,000

Gambier

Kenyon Review: $15,000

Oberlin

Slowik Music Institute (aka Credo Music): $10,000

Shaker Heights

Verb Ballets: $10,000

For more information about these recipients and their projects, click here to download a complete, filterable list of awards.

According to the National Endowment for the Arts, Art Works grants support “artistically excellent projects that celebrate our creativity and cultural heritage, invite mutual respect for differing beliefs and values, and enrich humanity.” It is their largest funding category. These matching grants typically range from $10,000 to $100,000.

For federal FY 2019, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded 972 Art Works grants totaling more than $25 million.

Challenge America grants support projects that “extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations—those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability,” according to the National Endowment for the Arts. Each grant is $10,000.

This year, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded 138 Challenge America grants totaling $1.38 million.

According to the National Endowment for the Arts, Creative Writing Fellowships in fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction “enable recipients to set aside time for writing, research, travel, and general career advancement.” Each grant is $25,000, providing direct support to creative writers.

This year, 35 Creative Writing Fellowships were awarded totaling $875,000.

For more information about the National Endowment for the Arts’ grant programs, visit arts.gov.

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Article by Amanda Etchison, Communications Strategist

2019 Governor’s Awards for the Arts Winners Announced

Wed, 23 Jan 2019 19:48:04 GMT

Nine winners have been selected to receive awards at the 2019 Arts Day & Governor’s Awards for the Arts in Ohio luncheon and ceremony on Wednesday, May 15, 2019. The event will take place at noon at the Columbus Athenaeum in downtown Columbus.

The Governor's Awards Selection Committee, composed of six Ohio Arts Council (OAC) board members and three members selected by the Ohio Citizens for the Arts (OCA) Foundation, recommended winners after reviewing nominations submitted by individuals and organizations across Ohio.

“The 2019 Governor’s Awards winners are creative, forward-thinking, and passionate representatives of Ohio’s artistic community," said OAC Executive Director Donna S. Collins. "On behalf of the Ohio Arts Council, I congratulate this year’s award recipients on earning our state’s most prestigious artistic and cultural achievement. The Governor’s Awards honor the work these individuals and organizations do every day to reaffirm the importance of the arts throughout Ohio and beyond.”

Winners will receive an original work of art by Ohio artist Caroline Rowntree.

The Governor’s Awards luncheon, a ticketed event open to the public, is held in conjunction with Arts Day, an annual arts advocacy event sponsored by the OCA Foundation. For more information about the Governor’s Awards and Arts Day, visit oac.ohio.gov/governorsawards or ohiocitizensforthearts.org.

The 2019 award recipients and categories follow:

ARTS ADMINISTRATION
Phyllis Gorfain, Artistic Director of Oberlin Drama at Grafton
Oberlin (Lorain)

Phyllis Gorfain, professor of English emerita at Oberlin College, originated Oberlin Drama at Grafton (ODAG) as a Shakespeare-centered performance program at Grafton Correctional Institution in 2012. As artistic director of ODAG, Phyllis has directed or helped direct 11 productions, five of them full or abridged Shakespeare plays. Through Phyllis’ initiatives, donors and other volunteers provide funding, mentoring, and many other forms of support, such as financial management, web design and maintenance, sound design, and program production. ODAG thus provides a transformative space for its actors, Oberlin students, guest directors, lecturers, visiting performers, volunteers, and audiences.

ARTS EDUCATION
Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati
Cincinnati (Hamilton)

ARTS PATRON
Sallie and Randolph Wadsworth
Cincinnati Area (Hamilton)

BUSINESS SUPPORT OF THE ARTS
Owens Corning
Toledo (Lucas)

Owens Corning (OC) is a global market leader in the development, manufacture, and marketing of insulation, roofing, and fiberglass composite products and solutions. Based in Toledo, Ohio, for more than 80 years, OC is committed to leveraging its people and products to make the world a better place.

The company’s dedication to providing access to the arts in its home community serves as a tangible demonstration of its purpose. Through its financial support, board participation, and widespread employee volunteerism, OC is helping to build a vibrant community that is enhanced by the world-class cultural amenities and visual and performing arts organizations it supports.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT & PARTICIPATION
Ronette Burkes, Warden at the Ohio Reformatory for Women
Marysville (Union)

Ronette “Roni” Burkes-Trowsdell serves as warden at the Ohio Reformatory for Women (ORW) in Marysville, Ohio. Throughout Roni’s 18-year tenure with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, it has been apparent her inner drive is fueled by her passion for people. Roni has chosen to lead and support diverse projects that aim to increase access to the arts for those who are justice-involved around the state. By offering these opportunities for creative expression, ORW is actively working to encourage community engagement between people inside and outside prison.

Roni’s involvement with the Harmony Project in Columbus and her dedication for the past 28 years to the service work of her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, also exemplifies her drive to save lives. She currently serves as president-elect for the Ohio Wardens and Superintendents Association, vice president for the Ohio Chapter of the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice, and as an advisory board member for Franklin University’s Center for Public Safety and Cybersecurity Education and Tiffin University’s Alumni Board.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT & PARTICIPATION
RJ Thompson, Assistant Professor of Graphic and Interactive Design at Youngstown State University
Youngstown (Mahoning)

RJ Thompson is a tenured assistant professor of graphic and interactive design in the Department of Art at Youngstown State University. Parallel to his teaching, he is the principal and creative strategist for +Public, a design research-based social enterprise that focuses on cultivating community and economic development impact through the creation of branded communication platforms, creative place-making, and storytelling initiatives for communities-in-revival.

In 2015, he was one of several recipients of the National Endowment for the Arts’ “Our Town” grant for the INPLACE (“Innovative Plan for Leveraging Arts & Community Engagement”) project. In 2017, RJ received a “Best of Marketing Award” from the Ohio Economic Development Association for his efforts in rebranding the City of Youngstown, Ohio, and in 2018, he was accepted into the prestigious Cohort 2 of the National Arts Marketing Project. RJ recently received a scholarship to participate in the National Arts Strategies’ “Arts & Culture Strategies Executive Program” through the University of Pennsylvania. He received his Master of Fine Arts Degree in graphic design from Savannah College of Art and Design in 2011.

INDIVIDUAL ARTIST
Leslie Adams
Toledo (Lucas)

Leslie Adams, a signature status member of the Portrait Society of America, is an internationally recognized artist specializing in narrative art and portraiture. Her patrons include many distinguished members of private society as well as the corporate, academic, religious, cultural, judicial, and civic leaders of our day. Leslie’s works have graced the walls of the Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery, the Butler Institute of American Art, and the European Museum of Modern Art in Barcelona, Spain. Her meticulously rendered drawings and paintings have received awards in the Art Renewal Center’s International ARC Salon and from the American Society of Portrait Artists’ Foundation and Portrait Society of America, where she earned the prestigious William F. Draper Grand Prize in its International Portrait Competition.

Her major solo exhibition, Leslie Adams, Drawn from Life, part of the Toledo Museum of Art’s 2012 Season of Portraiture, was a childhood dream fulfilled and the most significant milestone of her career since graduating from the University of Toledo and New York Academy of Art. She is represented in the permanent collections of the Toledo Museum of Art, the Ella Sharp Museum of Art, the Academy of Achievement, and numerous other institutions throughout the world.

INDIVIDUAL ARTIST
Mark Lomax II, DMA
Columbus (Franklin)

Dr. Mark Lomax II, a critically acclaimed composer, recording artist, drummer, activist, and educator, is a Wexner Center for the Arts at the Ohio State University (OSU) Artist Residency 2018 award recipient. A highly sought-after lecturer, Mark specializes in the socio-political and spiritual aspects of African-American art, music, race, and the usage of the arts to build community. Heavily influenced by his father, a pastor, and mother, a composer of gospel music, Mark was introduced to gospel and jazz at an early age and continued his study of gospel music with Dr. Raymond Wise, founder of the Center for the Gospel Arts. As a jazz musician, he has toured with the Delfeayo Marsalis Sextet and worked with notable artists such as Clark Terry, Marlon Jordan, and Azar Lawrence, among others.

Mark, also a 2017 Denison University Mellon Artist-In-Residence, holds a Doctor of Music Arts degree in composition from OSU. He is in a prestigious and elite group as one of 30 or so African American composers in the United States who have terminal degrees in classical music. His myriad experiences have allowed him to create a unique blend of styles in his music.

IRMA LAZARUS AWARD
Dayton Literary Peace Prize
Dayton (Montgomery)

The Dayton Literary Peace Prize (DLPP) honors writers who use the power of literature to foster peace, social justice, and global understanding. Launched in 2006 and recognized as one of the world’s most prestigious literary honors, it is the only literary peace prize awarded in the United States. Each year, the Prize awards $10,000 to one fiction and one nonfiction author whose work advances peace as a solution to conflict and leads readers to a better understanding of other cultures, peoples, religions, and political points of view. Additionally, the Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award is bestowed upon a writer whose body of work reflects the Prize's mission.

Since its inception, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation, principally made up of volunteers, has awarded prizes to 72 established and emerging authors from 20 countries. Through the DLPP University and Library Consortiums, presentations have reached tens of thousands of high school, college, university, and community readers, and DLPP-developed curricula based on winning books is used in Ohio high school and university classes.

ABOUT THE OHIO CITIZENS FOR THE ARTS FOUNDATION
The Ohio Citizens for the Arts Foundation, formed in 1990 as a companion organization to Ohio Citizens for the Arts, leverages support for the arts and arts education. For more information about the foundation, visit ohiocitizensforthearts.org/about-oca-foundation.

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Article by Amanda Etchison, Communications Strategist
Featured Image: Design by Alan Jazak, Formation Studio. Artwork: "Dahlia Walk" by Caroline Rowntree

37 Ohio Artists Featured in 12th Annual OOVAR Statewide Exhibition

Fri, 30 Nov 2018 14:58:00 GMT

The 12^th annual Ohio Online Visual Artist Registry (OOVAR) Juried Exhibition is a treasure trove of talent.

Featuring work by 37 Ohio artists, My Treasures Are Within: 12^th Annual OOVAR Juried Exhibition is on view at the Columbus Metropolitan Main Library’s Carnegie Gallery (96 S. Grant Ave., Second Floor) through Jan. 12.

Presented by the Ohio Arts Council (OAC), Columbus Metropolitan Library, and Friends of the Library, the exhibition showcases Ohio artists registered in OOVAR, a database of work of more than 1,900 artists from Ohio and all over the world.

The artists on display hail from 22 Ohio cities and work in a variety of mediums.

Artists in the show include:

Fatima Azimova, Dublin
Ginny Baughman, Westerville
Donald Black Jr., Shaker Heights
Edmund Boateng, Reynoldsburg
Jennifer Brown, Reynoldsburg
Stephen Calhoun, Cleveland Heights
Dan Cleary, Dayton
Clifford Darrett, Dayton
Pamela Daum, Kent
Randy DePuy, Columbus
Lisa Di Giacomo, Dublin
Leslie Durham, Cincinnati
Phyllis Fannin, Lakewood
Maureen France, Cincinnati
Pam Geisel, Yellow Springs
Becky Grasser, Kirtland
Kari Gunter-Seymour, Albany
Linda Hutchinson, Kent
Glenna Jennings, Dayton
Susie Jordan, Columbus
Charlotte Lees, Solon
Baila Litton, Cleveland
Bob Maurer, Canton
Kathleen McKenna, Shaker Heights
Jason Morgan, Wilmington
Ardine Nelson, Columbus
Elizabeth Nelson, Columbus
Frauke Palmer, Columbus
Katherine Palmer, Columbus
Hollis Richardson, Strongsville
Michael Rosen, Glenford
James Ruby, Newburgh Heights
John Sargent III, South Euclid
Vanda Sucheston Hughes, Columbus
Gwen Waight, Peninsula
Paul Wilbur, Columbus
Evie Zimmer, Cleveland

A filterable list of artists and their work in the exhibition can be downloaded here.

Exhibition juror Marlene VonHandorf Steele, a Cincinnati-based artist who serves as arts ambassador to Ohio for the Portrait Society of America, said she found the variety of artwork impressive and added that it was interesting to see how each of the artists explored the “My Treasures Are Within” theme.

“The exhibition title … is uniquely personal and inwardly directed. The theme asserts self-searching and self-affirmation in the positive, accepting passions and dreams as well as perceived flaws and imperfections,” Steele said. “In reviewing the submissions of these Ohio-based artists, I was personally impressed by several works expressively concerned with 'home space' and deep community roots. The artists’ utilization of these elements authenticates their personal introspectiveness while projecting a sense of community identity and ‘personal place.’”

This year, the show’s three jurors are Steele, Tamara James of Friends of the Library, and Greg Easterling of the Columbus Metropolitan Library. In addition to selecting the pieces for the show, each of the jurors will award one $500 Juror’s Choice Award. These three $500 awards are sponsored by the OAC.

A People’s Choice Award of $500, sponsored by the Friends of the Library, will be selected based on ballots cast by patrons of the gallery and library through Jan. 9.

Awards will be presented publicly on Jan. 12 during a closing reception held at the Main Library from 2 to 4 p.m.

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Article by Amanda Etchison, Communications Strategist

Stories Speak Through Art at Final Spotlight Exhibition on Display at Ohio Governor’s Residence October – December 2018

Wed, 31 Oct 2018 17:51:00 GMT

The late Ohio artist Elijah Pierce viewed his works as more than just colorful carvings.

“My carvings look nice, but if they don't have a story behind them, what's the use of them?” Pierce said in a 1979 interview with The New York Times. “Every piece of work I carve is a message, a sermon.”

Pierce was a long-time barber (and sometimes preacher) on Columbus’ east side, where he became well-known for his bas relief narrative panels. Pierce, originally from Mississippi, died in Columbus in 1984 at the age of 92.

Using the power of art to communicate lessons, histories, and memories is a common thread linking the artwork included in the current Spotlight: Featured Artists at the Ohio Governor’s Residence exhibition, which opened on Oct. 16.

Featuring the work of nine Ohio artists chosen by Ohio First Lady Karen W. Kasich with the assistance of the Ohio Arts Council, the exhibition serves to recognize the talented African-American artists living and working throughout the state.

Artists whose works are on view include: Anna Arnold (Cleveland), David Buttram (Cleveland), Clifford Darrett (Dayton), Pepper Kojo (Columbus), Lisa McLymont (Columbus), Kelly and Kyle Phelps (Cincinnati and Dayton), Antoinette Savage (Columbus), and Omar Shaheed (Columbus).

The exhibition also coincides with the 100th anniversary celebration the Harlem Renaissance and its wide-reaching cultural and artistic impact.

“This is our nod to that great celebration, and I know that a lot of today’s artists were inspired and influenced by the people and events of that time period,” Kasich said during her remarks at the exhibition’s opening reception. “I think it’s exciting that, as a nation, we are celebrating that right now.”

During the reception, Kasich reflected on the 20 Spotlight exhibitions held over the past five years and praised the work of Ohio artists.

“We have had the works of over 60 artists displayed here,” she said. “I think that’s really important because artists are our risk-takers, our creators. They enhance our way of life, and art is a good business to the state of Ohio, so we like to do what we can to support it.”

Kasich concluded her remarks with the unveiling of a 1967 piece by Pierce titled “Born Again,” a painted bas relief woodcarving that she purchased for the residence’s permanent art collection.

“I wanted to find something that I could give back to Ohioans for the honor that was bestowed upon me (as first lady),” she said. “‘Born Again’ is a gift to the people of our state.”

Kasich noted Pierce was the catalyst for the direction of the final Spotlight exhibition and nine artists whose works were selected to be showcased. Biographies of the artists and photos of their artwork in the exhibition can be found in the Spotlight brochure.

Anna Arnold, an artist from Cleveland who serves as the director of the Florence O’Donnell Wasmer Gallery at Ursuline College, is one of the Spotlight artists. Arnold said she is thrilled to have a piece in the show. Her acrylic painting called “Storyteller” is hanging on the wall in the Residence’s foyer.

In bright colors, Arnold depicts a woman in a vivid quilted skirt telling kids about what life was like when she was a child. The piece speaks to the knowledge and advice older leaders in the community can provide to a new generation, Arnold said.

“I hope that it gives them a sense of hope. That no matter what is going on, there’s always hope and there are always elders that we should listen to because they have been through things,” she said. “When they tell us, we should listen to those stories because they are so important to who we are and who we can become.”

Details in the painting, such as the bold patterns on the women’s clothes, reflect lessons Arnold said she learned from being around her grandmother.

“My grandmother made quilts, and that came up from when she was a child. But I didn’t learn that skill,” she said. “And now when I look back at that, I should’ve learned that! I should’ve learned whatever she had to offer me, but I couldn’t see it as a kid.”

The work of Kelly and Kyle Phelps also serves to preserve pieces of history. In their metal and ceramic sculpture titled “When the Machine Stops,” the brothers use artifacts retrieved from abandoned factories to depict scenes from an industrialized landscape.

“This piece is, like all the rest of our pieces, kind of a shrine or altar piece to the working class,” said Kelly Phelps, a professor of art and chair of the Art Department at Xavier University. “Ohio is a very blue-collar, working-class state. To have some sort of representation through art about our people—not even just African-American people, but working-class people—is what our message is. We are here, and those jobs do matter.”

Kyle Phelps, a professor in the University of Dayton’s Department of Art and Design, said the materials he and his brother use carry a story that emphasizes this message.

“It wouldn’t feel the same if we went to Home Depot and got all this new material and tried to make things look old and worn,” he said, adding that the objects in the piece at the residence were pulled from factories located all around the rust belt. “This has a sense of place and time and history. We are not forgotten. And when I say, ‘we,’ I’m speaking about working-class folks. We are definitely not forgotten, and we are important.”

The final Spotlight exhibition will be on view through December.

Members of the public who wish to view the exhibition can schedule a free tour of the Ohio Governor’s Residence and Heritage Garden by calling 614-644-7644 or online at residence@governor.ohio.gov.

ABOUT SPOTLIGHT: FEATURED ARTISTS AT THE OHIO GOVERNOR’S RESIDENCE
Spotlight: Featured Artists at the Ohio Governor’s Residence is a program created by Ohio’s First Lady Karen W. Kasich that celebrates Ohio artists by showcasing a sampling of their artworks in the Residence foyer. The program enhances the ongoing partnership between the Ohio Governor’s Residence and Heritage Garden and the Ohio Arts Council (OAC). Since 1985 the OAC has assisted in placing artwork by Ohio artists and from Ohio cultural institutions in the Governor’s Residence and throughout the Vern Riffe Center for Government and the Arts. The Spotlight program offers quarterly exhibitions at the Governor’s Residence highlighted by opening receptions. Spotlight Artists are selected by First Lady Kasich with assistance from the OAC. All Ohio artists are eligible to submit their work for consideration. To be eligible for the program the artist cannot be a student enrolled in a degree-granting program and must be a resident of the State of Ohio.

ABOUT THE OHIO GOVERNOR’S RESIDENCE AND HERITAGE GARDEN
The Jacobean Revival style home was originally built for the family of industrialist Malcom Jeffrey in 1925, and has served as the official Ohio Governor’s Residence for nearly 60 years. Examples of Ohio art, industry, and craftsmanship are showcased throughout the house while outside, the surrounding Heritage Garden reflects the state’s diverse native botanicals and landscapes. Free tours of the Ohio Governor’s Residence and Heritage Garden can be scheduled by calling 614-644-7644 or online at residence@governor.ohio.gov.

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Article by Amanda Etchison, Communications Strategist
Featured photo courtesy of the Office of Ohio First Lady Karen W. Kasich

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Cincinnati (Hamilton)

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